𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐄 𝐍𝐎𝐈𝐑𝐄 | sasuke uchiha

What to Do?

I was woken up for the third time that night by Ayumi's cries, and tiredly lifted myself up so that I could pick her up. Against the window, Sasuke's silhouette gave me a heart attack for the third time, and I cursed at him again as I rocked Ayumi, having already fed her the first time she had woken up.

"Here."

I looked up questioningly as Sasuke stood before me with his arms outstretched, and raised an eyebrow in suspicion of his motives.

"Here what?" I asked, patting Ayumi's back as I held her against my shoulder.

"Give her to me."

With a frown, I turned away from the Uchiha.

"Why?"

"Do you want to sleep or not?" he snapped, sitting at the foot of the bed.

"Why aren't you sleeping?" I retorted, raising my voice so that he could hear me over Ayumi's wails.

"Look, just give her to me to look after. We can't afford having you tired on the way back."

I didn't trust him one bit, but at the same time, I didn't want to argue with him either. Whether I liked it or not, waking up so frequently was taking its toll on me, and I knew that I wouldn't be sleeping comfortably for another night or two.

Reluctantly, I held out the screaming baby to Sasuke, who awkwardly took her and carried her in his arms.

"Come closer," I said, beckoning for him to move forward so I could adjust his grip on Ayumi. "Here, one arm here, and one here. It should be like a basket to hold her in. Just rock her until she goes to sleep. When she does, you can put her back next to me."

"Got it." I watched Sasuke warily as he paced the room, eventually succeeding in subduing her cries. As soon as Ayumi's cries receded, I took the liberty of shutting my eyes and getting some much needed sleep.

***

I slept soundly that night, and when I woke up the next morning, was feeling rather refreshed and ready to go. The same couldn't be said for Sasuke, though; when he woke me up, his eyes looked sullen and dark, and I saw that he was still carrying Ayumi, who was awake and bright eyed.

"Let's go." I got up and quickly washed up, before picking up my backpack and slinging it over my shoulders. The door opened, and as if on cue, Karin was walking in, carrying what appeared to be a baby sling.

"Here," she said abruptly, handing it to me. She stared at Sasuke in surprise as I took the gear from her, taking off my backpack so that I could put on the baby carrier.

"Um... Sasuke-kun, you look a bit tired," she pointed out, making the Uchiha glower darkly at her.

"It's okay," I said lightly, taking Ayumi from him and navigating her into the vertical carrier, blankets and all. "If Sasuke passes out, I can carry him with the other baby."

Karin snorted as I picked up my backpack and nodded at the Uchiha, who looked like he wanted to do nothing more than strangle me.

"Won't that be a sight for sore eyes."

And so, our trek back to the hideout began. The first day was a day of pure walking; there was no rush or desire to hurry. For now, all three of us were focused solely on Ayumi's wellbeing, and that involved juggling babysitting duties.

When we set up camp on the first night, I thought Sasuke was going to spontaneously combust or something with how tired he looked.

"Yah," I called as I unrolled my sleeping bag. He looked at me dully, and I kicked the edge of my sleeping bag. "Come and sleep. I can take care of her tonight."